SURA 60. Mumtahana, or the Woman to be Tested
1. O ye who believe! Take not my enemies and yours as friends [or protectors],-
offering them [your] love, even though they have rejected the Truth that has
come to you, and have [on the contrary] driven out the Prophet and yourselves
[from your homes], [simply] because ye believe in Allah your Lord! If ye have
come out to strive in My Way and to seek My Good Pleasure, [take them not as
friends], holding secret converse of love [and friendship] with them: for I know
full well all that ye conceal and all that ye reveal. And any of you that does
this has strayed from the Straight Path.
2. If they were to get the better of you, they would behave to you as enemies,
and stretch forth their hands and their tongues against you for evil: and they
desire that ye should reject the Truth.
3. Of no profit to you will be your relatives and your children on the Day of
Judgment: He will judge between you: for Allah sees well all that ye do.
4. There is for you an excellent example [to follow] in Abraham and those with
him, when they said to their people: “We are clear of you and of whatever ye
worship besides Allah: we have rejected you, and there has arisen, between us
and you, enmity and hatred for ever,- unless ye believe in Allah and Him alone”:
But not when Abraham said to his father: “I will pray for forgiveness for thee,
though I have no power [to get] aught on thy behalf from Allah.” [They prayed]:
“Our Lord! in Thee do we trust, and to Thee do we turn in repentance: to Thee is
[our] Final Goal.
5. “Our Lord! Make us not a [test and] trial for the Unbelievers, but forgive
us, our Lord! for Thou art the Exalted in Might, the Wise.”
6. There was indeed in them an excellent example for you to follow,- for those
whose hope is in Allah and in the Last Day. But if any turn away, truly Allah is
Free of all Wants, Worthy of all Praise.

Surah Mumtahana- Sheikh Abu Bakr Shatri

Reflect

The objective of surat Al-Mumtahina is quite obvious from the very beginning; “O you who believe! Take not My enemies and your enemies (i.e. disbelievers and polytheists) as friends …” (TMQ, 60:1). Of course, you can see that the themes of allegiance to Muslims and renunciation of the disbelievers are prominent all through this part. Therefore, this surah brings us four tests of belonging:

Hateb Ibn-Abi-Balta’a.

The immigrating women.

The balance between loyalty and renunciation.

The believing women, before they took the pledge of allegiance.

2. The Prophet (SAWS) was secretly setting up an army to surprise the disbelievers and enter Makkah, so that they would surrender without any bloodshed in the Holy Shrine. However, one of the companions (Hateb Ibn-Abi-Balta’a) sent a secret message to his family in Makkah, warning them about the attack. The whole situation put this believer’s loyalty to test. The Qur’an dealt with this matter, which would be regarded as ‘high treason’ in today’s military codes? It dealt with it in such a gentle and amicable way.

3. This surah discusses a very important issue for any society that would like to preserve its belonging to Islam. The surah instructed Muslims to test immigrant women before allowing them to be part of their community to guarantee that no skeptics or deceivers would be permitted into the Muslim community. Women have the keys to the stability of any society. They are the ones who have the ability to maintain the solidarity and unity of the members of their society and to preserve their adherence and devotion to their religion. Now can you see how the Muslim community values and honors women? Can you understand the role women play in maintaining the society’s relationship to Allah’s religion?

4. Surah strikes a balance between belonging to Islam and renunciation of the disbelievers. We should renounce the disbelievers who are fighting us but treat those who live with us in peace with justice and forgiveness. That way Muslims will not misunderstand this important principle that distinguishes our religion.